Learn how to make the BEST Vegan Tomato Soup ever! Silky smooth, dairy free but creamy and made with simple ingredients you probably have in your pantry right now.
One of my kid’s favorite dinners is grilled (vegan) cheese and tomato soup. I make a batch of Stretchy Vegan Mozzarella for the “cheese” and pair it with an easy homemade tomato soup.
I’ve been wanting to share this recipe for quite some time and am finally getting it out there. I hope you love this easy, creamy soup as much as my family does!
How to make Easy Vegan Tomato Soup
(The full ingredient list and instructions are listed in the recipe card at the bottom, this is an overview)
- In a large pot, saute a chopped onion in a little olive oil or water.
- Add a can of crushed tomatoes and vegetable broth. Simmer for 20 minutes.
- To a high powered blender, add some raw cashews.
- Add all the soup on top of the nuts. It should all fit unless your blender is small or you double the recipe.
- Blend!
- Transfer the soup back to the pot, add salt and sugar (just a teaspoon to cut the acidity) to taste.
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Special Tips & Substitutions
- Nut Free: You can make this without nuts, though using cashews makes for the best results, in my opinion. To make nut free, stir in about 1/2 cup of coconut milk. You could also use soy or hemp milk. Make sure it is unsweetened and unflavored.
- No Blender? No problem. Just use one of the nut free options and an immersion blender instead. You could even skip blending altogether if you want texture, especially if you use crushed tomatoes.
- For Tomato Basil soup, add about 1/2 cup of fresh basil leaves to the blender and blend along with the rest of the soup. Yum!
- I love Muir Glen brand canned tomatoes. You really want to use quality canned tomatoes for tomato soup, not the cheapest versions if possible. San Marzano tomatoes are also a great choice.
More creamy vegan soups
- Vegan Cauliflower Soup
- Easy Vegan Potato Soup
- Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Instant Pot Vegan Tomato Soup
Easy Vegan Tomato Soup
Learn how to make the BEST Vegan Tomato Soup ever! Silky smooth, dairy free but creamy and made with simple ingredients you probably have in your pantry right now.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (or water for oil free)
- 1 medium sweet onion, chopped
- 28 ounces canned crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, optional to cut the acidity
Instructions
- In a large pot, saute the onion in the olive oil (or water) for 4-5 minutes over medium heat, until soft and translucent.
- Add the crushed tomatoes and vegetable broth and stir. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.
- To a high powered blender, add the raw cashews. Now carefully transfer the soup to the blender as well (unless you double the recipe, it should all fit). Use a towel to protect yourself from any splatters, and blend until very smooth.
- Return the blended soup to the pot and taste. Add salt to taste, and stir in a teaspoon of sugar to cut the acidity a little bit. Serve with salad, croutons, a loaf of bread, or dip vegan grilled cheese into it! Enjoy.
Notes
- Nut Free: Instead of cashews, simply stir in a little coconut milk from a can (1/2 cup) or even soy, hemp or oat that is unsweetened. You can also make it without any "cream" added.
- No Blender: Use one of the nut free options from above, and use an immersion blender to blend it right in the pot. It won't be as silky smooth this way, but it will still be good.
- For Tomato Basil soup, add about 1/2 cup of fresh basil leaves to the blender and blend along with the other ingredients.
- For the best tomato soup, use quality canned tomatoes, not the cheapest generic version unless you have to! I use crushed, but you can also use whole canned tomatoes, or even diced.
- Store leftover soup in the refrigerator for 4 days. It freezes very well.
- Instant Pot: To make this in an Instant Pot, first saute the onion in the inner pot, then add the tomatoes and broth. Seal and cook for 5 minutes on high pressure. Continue with blending, and adding salt/sugar to taste.
Nutrition
Calories: 173kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1026mg | Potassium: 728mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 677IU | Vitamin C: 20mg | Calcium: 80mg | Iron: 4mg
Did you make this recipe?Mention @nora_cooks_vegan_ or tag #noracooks!
Made it again using the proper crushed tomatoes haha. Tastes wonderful!
Still not sure how to alter the last batch ha
Didn’t realize until I tasted it at the end that I accidentally used fire roasted. Trying to “fix” the flavor. Any suggestions. So far I put a handful of more cashews, some tomato paste, thinking of more veg broth cause now it’s really thick ha. Any suggestions?
Since going dairy free recently, I’ve missed creamy tomato soup. This is delicious and so easy to make! Thank you for sharing. I plan to try some of your other recipes 🙂
Hello! Thank you for sharing your great review and comments! I’m so glad you loved the soup! Thank you for using my recipe, and I hope you enjoy your journey through my other recipes! Let me know if you have any questions about any of them! Happy cooking!
My second time making this soup. Everyone loves it. It is incredibly easy and delicious! A win win!!
Hi Dawn! I’m thrilled that you love the soup! Thank you for sharing your great review!
Still thinking about how easy and delicious this was. I’ve been trying to find a sweet and savory tomato soup and this was better than any other I have had, EVER. Thank you, I’m excited to make this all winter!
Hello! I’m glad you loved the soup! I agree it is a wonderful winter soup, and oh so delicious with a crispy gilled cheese sandwich! Thank you for sharing your great comments! Happy cooking!
How is this so good???! All I can say is, make this right now and eat it with a vegan grilled cheese. Your recipes never disappoint!
Thanks for sharing you fun and great comments, Erin! I’m glad you love the soup! Thank you for using my recipes!
Oh my goodness. This soup was incredible! I’m 36 weeks pregnant and getting ready to meal prep so I wanted to test out this recipe… it will DEFINITELY be on my list of soups to freeze next week! I added garlic to the onions and added in 1/2 cup of white beans just for some extra fat and protein… it was delicious and so so easy!
Hi Cindi! Congratulations to you! How exciting! I’m so glad that you love the tomato soup. Thanks so much for taking your time to share your wonderful review and comments!
Added 3/4 oatmilk instead of cashews worked out perfect. Love all the recipes you’re my go to chef. Thank you!
Thank you so much! I appreciate you taking your time to share!
Great go to soup! I have made this for guests as a starter and all have loved it too!
So glad you love it! Thank you for sharing your review!
Great recipe! I let the onions caramelize a little and otherwise followed the recipe. Thank you Nora! Eating the soup with grilled cheese right now!
Loved this creamy tomato soup! I changed nothing about the recipe and it was delicious 🙂
I appreciate you taking your time to share your review, Emily! Thank you, and I’m glad you love the soup!
This soup is delicious! So creamy and comforting! The jar of diced tomatoes I was planning on using had bugs inside ? so I used a jar of marinara we happened to have and it turned out great! I also added some nutritional yeast at the end and that added more yummy creamy cheesy flavors.
Used a can of Roasted Diced Tomatoes with Garlic and it came out amazing!
I’m glad it turned out wonderful for you, Ashlee! Thank you for sharing!
This was the BEST tomato soup . . . ever! Thank you.
I’m thrilled you think this is the best soup! Thank you for sharing, Earlene!
This was a big hit with my family! So simple and fast to make. I blended in a red pepper that I had roasted earlier in the week. I will definitely be making this regularly.
This was great! I used organic fire roasted diced tomatoes with green chilies I drained. I sautéed the onion and threw it all in the blender and let it heat up there. Added liquid aminos and maple syrup for salt and sugar. I will make this again!! Thank you!!
Hi Doady. I’m glad you loved the soup! Thank you for sharing!
This soup was amazing. Rich and creamy. I added vegan mozzarella to it after i blended it and put it back in the pot. I also added the cashews at the same time as the crushed tomatoes so they could soften. Def will make this again!!!
Hi Suzanne. I’m glad you like the soup! Thank you!
This recipe is so delicious & easy to make! I was looking for an easy tomato soup recipe and stumbled across this one. This soup is very creamy, silky, and addicting! I used my Vitamix to blend it up and it came out perfectly! I’ll definitely make this recipe again!
Hi Bridget! I’m glad the tomato soup turned out delicious and perfect for you! Thank you for sharing!
This was super easy. I used diced tomatoes and a shallot, but since it went in the blender, it didn’t matter. We needed the soup to be done fast (our grilled ‘cheese’ sandwiches couldn’t wait) so I only simmered it for about 5 minutes. It was still terrific. Call me crazy, but I then squeezed in a couple tbsp of ketchup and it added a perfect tanginess. It made up for the short simmering time!
Hi Brenda. I’m glad the soup was quick, easy, and delicious for you! Thank you for sharing!
This was AMAZING! I didn’t have cashews but I had cashew butter so I used that instead. We are newly vegan and this was a simple and easy to help us get started. THANK YOU!!
Hi Jodi. I’m glad you love the soup! Thank you for sharing! Happy cooking!
Made this soup today and it was SO fast and so easy. Added a few cloves of garlic and used better than bouillon chicken for the broth. Loved it and im so glad I found this recipe.
Hi Alex. I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup! Thank you!
It was so hard finding a vegan canned soup I finally settled on making it at home. I am SO glad I did! Flavorful and warming, all that a tomato soup should be. This soup plus some grilled cheeses made the perfect quick comfort food meal. Thank you!
Hi Jen. This is one of our favorite comfort meals, with grilled cheese of course! I’m glad you found, and love, the soup recipe! Thank you for sharing!
This soup is literally incredible. I ended up using a couple of tablespoons of basil paste because I couldn’t find fresh basil, but it was still so good and I will definitely be making this again. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Hi Brooke. Glad you loved the soup. This is a favorite in our home! Thank you!
Delicious! Have made it several times, and my husband loves it!! I cut the vegetable broth down by 1/2 cup and added 1/2 cup of unsweetened almond milk to add a little creaminess. This will be a vegan staple in our house!
I’m so glad to hear that!
Made this soup for myself and my carnivores. It was a hit! Thanks for sharing your talent with me!
You’re welcome!
Wow! Great soup! Loved it and will make again!!!
That’s great!